Typographical Elements

Tomasz Bogusz

What Are Typographical Elements in HTML?

The HTML typographical elements are elements that are used to display their content in a specific manner not for presentational purposes but due to typographical conventions.

The notable HTML typographical elements are:

  • sub and

  • sup.

Subscript

The sub is a typographical element in which content is rendered with lowered baseline and decreased font size.

The sub element is typically used for:

  • chemical formulas like C8H10N4O2,

  • footnotes, and

  • mathematics.

<span>
  C<sub>8</sub>H<sub>10</sub>N<sub>4</sub>O<sub>2</sub> stands for caffeine.
</span>

Superscript

The sup is a typographical element in which content is rendered with higher baseline and using the decreased font size.

The sup element is typically used for:

  • ordinal numbers, like 5th

  • mathematical exponents.